Paintbrush with scraper blade



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Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAINTBRUSH WITHSCRAPER BLADE Edward J. Ranft, Woodside, N. Y.

Application September 14, 1945, Serial No. 616,273

1 Claim. i

This invention relates to a paint brush and it is one object of theinvention to provide a paint brush having associated therewith a bladeor strip which may be used as a paddle for mixing paint in a can, as aprop for supporting the brush in an upright position when not in use, oras a screwdriver or scraping blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paint brush whereinthe auxiliary strip or blade is mounted in a pocket extendinglongitudinally in the handle of the brush and of such length that whenit is in a retracted position, it will not interfere with use of thebrush for painting.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the strip or blade thatit may be slid longitudinally out of the pocket in the brush handle to aposition in which it proects beyond ends of the bristles of the brushand may very conveniently be used as a paddle for stirring paint, as aprop for the brush, or as a screw-driver or scraping blade when thebrush is grasped by the handle.

Another object of the invention is to provide the brush handle with aslot in a side portion thereof through which passes a pin carried by thestrip,

the pin being so mounted that it may be shifted into recesses extendingfrom a side of the slot and thus secure the blade or strip in itsextended position, or in a retracted position. The invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View of the improved paint brush 'with the blade or stripin its retracted position,

Figure 2 is a viewr showing the blade or strip fully extended,

Figure 3 is a view showing the blade or strip partially extended,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the paintbrush with the blade in its retracted position,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken transversely through the handle ofthe brush, and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the upper or inner end portion of thestrip.

This improved paint brush has a handle I and bristles which are held inengagement with the handle by the usual metal ferrule 3. The handle I ispreferably formed of plastic, although it may be formed of any suitablematerial, and in the handle is formed a pocket Il which extendslongitudinally thereof and is open at its front or lower end, as shownin Figure 4. A slot 5 extends longitudinally of the handle in one sidethereof and this slot communicates with the pocket 'i and is formed atits ends with laterally extending reto its front end with a notch orrecess 8. Additional notches 8 may be formed if found desirable, Thenotch 6 has a diagonally extending lower edge e and the notches I and Shave their upper edges I0 and I I cut diagonally, for a reason to behereinafter set forth.

In connection with this brush, there has been provided a blade or stripI2 which is formed of strong metal and is of such width and thicknessthat it may be slidably received in the lpocket i and readily shiftedlongitudinally therein. The blade or strip is of such length that whenit is in the retracted position shown in Figure 4 its iront or outer endterminates rearwardly of the iront edge of the ferrule 3. Therefore,when the strip or blade is retracted, it will be entirely shielded bythe handle and the ierrule and not interfere with use of the brush inthe usual manner, A pin I3 carried by a short plate I4 projects throughthe slot 5 and the plate I4 is connected with the strip or blade I2 by arivet or other suitable fastener I5. Since the pin I3 projects from oneend of the plate It and the fastener I5 passes through the plateadjacent its other end, the plate will be pivotally mounted and may beswung about the fastener I5 as a pivot. Therefore, the pin I3 may bedisposed as shown in Figure 6 for guiding movement through the slot 5and when the blade or strip is in the retracted position, the pin may beengaged in the notch or recess 6. When the blade or strip is in anextended position, the pin may be en gaged in the notch 1 or in thenotch 8 and se curely hold the blade or strip fully extended, as shownin Figure 2, or partially extended, as shown in Figure 3. When the pinis in the notch S, it engages the sloping wall 9 of notch so thatpressure on the blade or strip will not cause the pin to be accidentallydislodged from notch 't and allow the blade or strip to slide downwardlytoward an extended position. When the pin is engaged in the notch 'I,the sloping wall I i) prevents movement of the pin out of the notch andwhen the pin is engaged in the notch 8, the sloping wall I I willprevent dislodgement of the pin from the notch.

When the paint brush is in use and paint which has been standing forsome time in a pan is` to be used, it is necessary to rst stir the paintin order to thoroughly mix the pigment with the oil. Therefore, theblade will be shifted downwardly to the extended position of Figure 2and the pin moved into notch 'I to secure it in the extended position.Since the lower or cuter end of the blade is bevelled, as shown at I5,this end of the cesses or notches 6 and 'I and in spaced relation blademay be engaged under the edge of the cover of a pan and the pan coverpried loose. The

Vbrush is then grasped by its handle l and the blade used for stirringthe paint. After the paint has been thoroughly mixed, the blade will beretracted and the pin moved into notch 6 to hold it in retractedposition. Since the outer or front end of the blade terminates short ofthe lower end of the ferrule when the blade is retracted, the blade willnot protrude into portions 0f the `bristles projecting from the ferruleand the paint brush may be used in the usual manner without interferenceby the blade. If it is found necessary to remove a screw or tack fromWoodwork to be painted, the blade will be shifted to the extendedposition and its bevelled end employed for prying the nail or tack looseor unscrewing the screw. The blade may also be used for'scraping looseputty from window frames. When it is desired to temporarily discontinueuse of the brush, such as when dust and other dirt is to be wiped fromwoodwork, the blade will be shifted to a partially or fully extendedposition and used as a prop for supporting the brush in a substantiallyupright position with the upper endo the handle resting against thewindow frame, or the like. Therefore, the brush need not be sethorizontally upon a can of paint and have its handle contact with paintupon the top of the can. This is a common practice and has been foundvery annoying, since when the brush is again picked up for use, wetpaint on the handle will get on the hand or ngers holding the handle ofthe brush. After painting has been iinished, the paint brush should becleaned and kept in a can or other receptacle partially lled withkerosene or the like to keep the bristles soft. When a paint brush isset into' a can containing kerosene, the bristles rest upon the bottomof the canand become lled with thick paint in the bottom of the can andvery often the bristles are causedto be curled at their free ends orilexed transversely sothat the paint brush loses its proper shape. Thisobjecttion is overcome by moving the bladelZ to the partially extendedposition of Figure 3 where it Vis secured by moving the pin into thenotch or recess'. The blade will then be held in the partially extendedVposition and the brush may be deposited in a can of kerosene with thelower end of the blade resting upon the bottom of the can and holdingthe bristles out of contact with the bottom of the can or with thickpaint at the bottom of the can. It will thus be seen that the a bladewill serve very eiectively to prevent damage to a paint brush which hasbeen left standing in a can or kerosene when not in use.

' tice, if desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A paint brush comprising, a handle, bristles at one end of the handle, aferrule embracing a portion of the handle and overlying the ends of thebristles adjacent the handle, said handle having an axial elongatedrectangular opening extending thereinto from the end carrying thebristles and also having a, longitudinal slot opening through one sideinto the axial opening, the handle also having a laterally extendingnotch at each end of the slot and a similar notch inter-A mediate theends of the slot, a flat elongated blade mounted in the opening in thehandle to slide from a fully retracted position in Which its outer endlies wholly within the ferrule to aIully extending position where itextends well beyond the free ends of the bristles to form a brushSupport, an arm pivoted'to the blade adjacent its innermost end and alocking pin onthe arm and projecting through the slot in the handle,said pin cooperating with the notches in the handle in locking the bladein fully Aprojected position, fully retracted position, or in anintermediate position where it may be used as a scraper for a surfacebeing painted and a thumb button on the outer end of said pin.

EDWARD J. RANFI.

REFERENCES CITED rlhe following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

